Uzumaki Lore
History Following the death of Sakai and Raishimaru, the knowledge of Ninjutsu spread across the world, and none were more captivated by this new power than a small fishing family that resided in Whirlpool Country, named Uzumaki. They had been modest fishermen for generations but were also known as stargazers and philosophers. They spent as much time expanding their minds, as they did casting out their nets. After all, the long months of solitude spent out at sea granted them plenty of time to contemplate. Ninjutsu was unlike anything the world had formerly seen. The Samurai had long been the strongest force, but now seemed dwarfed by the power that Raishimaru had discovered. The Uzumaki pivoted their lifestyle, diverting their comfortable wealth to pay travellers, monks or anyone they came across for the knowledge they had of Ninjutsu. The family would carefully record this knowledge in scrolls. Some information was short, but it is noted that a few of those first scrolls could stretch from one side of the main island in Whirlpool country to the other. Once the Uzumaki were satisfied with the flow of information that they were capable of obtaining, they left the fishing trade to set up a stable library in the country’s capital, Akimono. The Uzumaki relied on their interest to acquire information to spread by word of mouth to expand their library. Unfortunately, this meant the Samurai became aware of what they were doing. The Samurai were aggressive enemies of Ninjutsu after the demise of their leader Sakai. As they struggled to rebuild their power, they knew they could not allow such an extensive library of Ninjutsu knowledge to exist. Especially when they believed the Uzumaki were researching and developing ways to strengthen this unnatural power. The Samurai possessed an ample navy and set sail from Iron Country to attack Akimono, but Whirlpool’s fishing boats were quick and alerted the island of the incoming samurai armada. The unified country came together in record time to defend their lands, unaware that the true target was the Uzumaki. The family had established many connections across the world in their recent trade and were able to hire a group of Water Release users from Snow Country to come to the aid of their Islands. The family offered the advanced knowledge of elemental chakra in exchange for this protection. Ultimately, the Samurai invasion was unsuccessful and much of their navy was sent to the sea bed by the Suiton users. Ensuring their effectiveness, the Uzumaki struck a deal with the Suiton users to hire them as permanent protection for the island. A century after the birth of Ninjutsu, the Akimono Library officially opened to the public in Whirlpool country. The Uzumaki paid for knowledge brought to them, and visitors paid to delve into the libraries’ vast stores of information. The family offered many of the other fishing families to militarise their boats and fortify the island, as the Samurai continued to attack. When the Suiton users abandoned the Uzumaki’s service to unite with their countrymen to colonize Water country, the threat of invasion increased. The scribers were enraged at this apparent betrayal. They believed that that the work they were doing in amassing this collection of Ninjutsu was paramount for the world itself, not any clan. Therefore, the Uzumaki elders devised a plan to preserve the library while punishing the Suiton traitors. While the Samurai truly wanted to destroy all knowledge of Ninjutsu, they were moreover desperately in need of money to maintain power over the lands they already controlled. Hence, when the Uzumaki offered the Samurai a generous amount of gold to attack the newly settled Yuki clan in Water Country instead of Akimono, the Samurai couldn’t refuse. With the stipulation that the source of their newfound wealth would remain hidden, the Samurai agreed. Seizing the opportunity, the Uzumaki constituted a similar offer to small pirate companies. These secret deals gave the clan power over the Eastern Sea in all, but name. For decades, Water Country was subject to bombardments from the sea by the Samurai and Pirates, hindering the development of infrastructure and trade for the Yuki. The Uzumaki had spent much of this time growing their navy and eventually approached the Yuki with a deal. They would protect Water Country, at a cost just shy of what the Uzumaki were paying the Samurai and Pirates to raid the islands. The Yuki agreed, unaware that they were rewarding the exact people who were pulling the strings of their attackers to defend them. They had little choice, even if they had known since their fleet was little more than a few fishing boats. The deal by the Uzumaki allowed them to pursue their work in Akimono in relative safety, and soon they were fit to send scribes across the Eastern Sea to the main continent to retrieve information without fear of interception or attack. The clan kept the Samurai and Pirates on the payroll and made sure occasional, well-placed attacks kept the Yuki’s fishing trade smaller than that of Whirlpool country. However, it was still an apparent improvement over the decades of attacks, and the arrangement with the Yuki was still beneficial. This deal continued for forty years, until the Yuki severed it with no explanation, ordering the Whirlpool fleet out of Water Country territory. The Uzumaki retreated but sent word to the Samurai and Pirates who immediately moved in and invaded the islands. The attack devastated the islands of Water Country. The smallest islands were nearly wiped off the map entirely. Close to extinction, the Uzumaki dispatched a fleet of their ships to defend the chief island. The Uzumaki made it clear they were not expecting payment and thanks to them, a few days later the Samurai were driven off. Instead of gratitude, the Yuki elders accused the Uzumaki of hiring the Samurai to assault them. The Uzumaki denied this but agreed to leave. The Yuki were left to face the oncoming winter with most of their boats destroyed. Rumours of the Uzumaki’s involvement with the Samurai had begun spreading. The number of visitors bearing contemporary knowledge to the island dropped, as many from the main continent chose to transfer their information to the Hyuuga elders. The Hyuuga were competing with the Uzumaki to establish their library in conjunction with their Seikatsu faith. However, the sea scribers had invested years developing the art of scroll sealing, known as Fuinjutsu, which was used as an absolute defence of their precious knowledge. Even with the recent rise of the Hyuuga library, the Akimono Library still utilized the vastest source of Ninjutsu knowledge. Their Fuinjutsu could stop their knowledge from being stolen, but it could still be demolished. Panic occurred as their naval scouts brought the word of Yuki boats being loaded up with supplies and weaponry, forcing them to pay mercenaries to help their navy protect Akimono from the potential threat. As war arrived, no expense was spared to ensure the survival of Akimono, and more importantly to the Uzumaki, the Library. The war endured several years and was declared as the Frozen War, named for the Yuki’s fabled usage of Ice Release to freeze the sea between Water and Whirlpool countries. This immobilized the Uzumaki’s armada and led to much of the war being fought on the frozen sea. During the Frozen War, Akimono was attacked multiple times by the Samurai who recognized an opportunity to destroy a vast library of Ninjutsu knowledge and took it. Empowered by the money they had made from their dealing with the Uzumaki over the last couple of centuries, they were more dominant than ever. As the war went on and they were battered from multiple sides, the Uzumaki neared financial ruin. Finally, a peace treaty was brokered by an Uzumaki elder, who arranged for his son Genzai to marry a Yuki noblewoman Kiyona. The deal included an agreement to share the sea for the fishing trade, with the Yuki being given the sounder side of the deal. Despite the treaty and joining of the clans in marriage, the relationship between the Uzumaki and the Yuki continued to be strained. This might have been due in part to both sides constantly overstepping the boundaries of their agreement. The marriage of Genzai and Kiyona was without love and both refused to live together, as each regarded the other as nothing more than a member of an evil clan. Both remained in their respective lands and never had any children. Small battles often broke out between their navies, and the estranged couple did little to bring any peace to the region. After the constant threat of the Frozen War, the Uzumaki had extended much of the Akimono library deep underground. With war terminated, many Uzumaki spent their entire lives in the vaults of the library, experimenting with Ninjutsu in protective rooms and advancing Fuinjutsu. Due to their fear of yet another attack, the Uzumaki placed Fuinjutsu barriers on and in the Library itself and therefore made it the mightiest fortress in the world. All of their scrolls had been sealed with elaborate and secret Fuinjutsu too. Their paranoia at having knowledge stolen acquired the Uzumaki’s techniques fame all around the world. Fuinjutsu had become a routine practice, but no one had developed it anywhere near the extent that the clan did; it was even considered a Kekkei Genkai of their clan. The Fuinjutsu techniques were as secretly guarded as the knowledge of Ninjutsu that they protected. When the Kaguya waged war with the Senju, the Uzumaki saw no reason to take part on either side as their on-and-off battles with the Yuki and the Samurai took most of their attention. It required nearly two decades before the Uzumaki finally took an interest in the war once the Uchiha requested that the clan employ their navy to stop the Yuki from shipping supplies to the Kaguya Alliance. This was perceived as an excellent opportunity for the Uzumaki to weaken their enemies and they joined the Senju Alliance on the promise from the Uchiha that trade would be established through the Alliance after the war. The Uchiha spearheading the fight had significantly increased the chances of the Alliance’s victory and so the Uzumaki elders recognized this as a rational way to join the victorious side. The clan was able to affect the war without risking their people by joining the primary fight in Forest Country where the gravest losses would occur. But after a decade of trapping and distracting the Yuki effort in the war, there was still no end in sight, and at a meeting of the leaders of the Senju Alliance, a decision was produced for a drastic change in tactics. The Uzumaki stepped up and suggested implementing a type of seal that they had been attempting to develop since the creation of the Akimono Library. However, the technique was yet unperfected. The Uzumaki had tried since the early days of the Akimono Library to harness the power of the Bijuu. Stories of the Beasts would have been exchanged to the clan, and over the centuries they had developed an understanding of them. Once they understood the Bijuu were made of a large amount of chakra, the Uzumaki set about pushing the limits of the Fuinjutsu to obtain and store the Beasts. However, the clan had tried and failed over and over again. They had wanted to keep their efforts secret, known exclusively amongst the most elite of the Uzumaki. The few who knew of this had never been able to find, weaken and seal a Bijuu without risking the lives of their strongest clansmen. They tried sealing the Bijuu without weakening it first, but their Fuinjutsu skill was not adequate; and when they had weakened the Bijuu, they too would be exhausted to perform the seal properly. Consequently, when the Senju Alliance had required a change of tactic for something drastic to turn the tide of the war, the Uzumaki elders decided to impart their knowledge. Confident in the fact that with the Uchiha warriors they would be fit to successfully perform the seal, the Uzumaki were starving to be known across the world as the men that captured the power of the Great Beasts. Many of the Bijuu across the world were unaccounted for, but the Uzumaki retained good authority from the people of Ishi that the Seven-Tailed Beast had not left the caves of Stone Country since the end of the war between Men and Beasts. This is why they picked Chomei for this task despite having to cross straight through enemy territory. They reduced details to a minimum and dispatched their strongest Fuinjutsu users with some Uchiha to sneak past the Kaguya camps and into Stone Country. Within this convoy was a young Aburame named Mumei that had lived amongst the Uzumaki since a young age, working as an aid to one of the elder scribes in the Akimono Library. She was informed she was there to document the exploits of the convoy in the war and agreed to travel with them. It took years of searching in Stone Country, in the labyrinth of caves and tunnels that sat below the barren surface. Mumei was never told what they were surveying for, just to document where they went and to map out the tunnels they had already explored. Ultimately, they discovered what they were seeking for in the deepest part of the tunnels, where came to a grand chamber, from the ceiling of which hung a gigantic cocoon. As they approached, it began wriggling, for something lived within it and seemed to be upset that they were near. The Uchiha jumped into action, circling the mass from below and using Katon to incinerate it, while the Uzumaki remained with Mumei who was watching in horror as the creature contorted inside its cage. It shed its barrier and revealed itself; a mighty beetle-like monster turned towards the interlopers. The Uchiha had devised a plan to weaken Chomei enough to deliver it over to the Uzumaki for sealing. A plan that would likely require the deaths of a few of the Uchiha, which they were more than willing to do if it marked the end of the war. The Uchiha used Amaterasu and Susano’o techniques to divert the Bijuu down a narrow tunnel, as they weakened it and kept it distracted. They then collapsed part of the tunnel onto Chomei and some of their own. With the Beast trapped and weakened, the Uzumaki grabbed Mumei and delivered her down the tunnel. The Uzumaki knew the powerful Bijuu could not be sealed within a scroll and unleashed like a tool, but they had discovered it was theoretically possible to seal it within another living being. The sealing of Chomei into Mumei took many hours, with the Uzumaki taking turns to not only seal the Bijuu itself but to restrain Mumei. Eventually, Mumei would pass out from shock and exhaustion. The sealing was successful, but given that this was unfamiliar territory for all those involved, it was decided to keep Mumei restrained and unconscious until they got back to Moon Country, as there were too many unknowns and it seemed best to keep both the host and the Beast in slumber. Upon returning to Moon Country, the Senju Alliance spent seven years training Mumei. Initially, she refused to accept her new fate. After all, it was unknown to everyone involved what the potential of a Bijuu sealed within someone was, and so much trial and error were needed. However, it became explicit that all three clans of the Alliance would need to work together to not only train but control and preserve what they dubbed their Jinchuuriki; the Power of Human Sacrifice. Mumei was slowly able to harness Chomei’s power and even build a close enough bond that the Beast would be willing to lend its power to the girl. The Senju Alliance were shocked by the potential Mumei showed, as she had to hold back her power in training to not injure her trainers or draw too much attention. The Kaguya Alliance needed not to find out about the Jinchuriki and start planning how to defend against her. When Mumei finally entered the battlefield, she did so with the group of trainers from the three clans that had worked with her for the past seven years, even if it was unclear if this was to help her or stop her from turning against the Alliance. Unleashing the Jinchuriki on the Kaguya Alliance proved effective, a war that spanned nearly fifty years was over in just one at the hands of a lone girl. But that ultimately proved to represent a point of conflict. Chiefly whether it was morally proper to resort to such a devastating weapon against mere Men. However, many decided it was a necessary part of the war, which led to the practice of sealing Bijuu within Men, with the process being somewhat perfected since then. After the war, the majority of the Uzumaki returned to Whirlpool Country and the elders struck a deal with Mumei to let her return to Hive Country. At the end of her life, she returned to the Uzumaki once again, to have Chomei unsealed from her as part of their deal, the process should have slain her instantly, but Chomei granted its oldest companion and friend enough of its chakra that Mumei was able to return home and pass away surrounded by her family in the Hive. Chomei was then sealed in an unknown Uzumaki so the clan could retain control of it. During this time, the new Fire Daimyo invited the Uzumaki to invest in Konoha, the modern village he was building alongside the other members of the Senju Alliance, and they agreed. The Uzumaki served on the Konoha council for many years and the first Hokage was from their clan. Many clan members joined the Leaf as Shinobi, and that career offered better prospects than most other opportunities available at the time. It was perceived as a way to extend their shared friendship with the Senju Alliance members. Some Uzumaki did defect from the clan and move to Suna, usually as a result of conflict within the clan regarding leadership or the ongoing dispute over the sealing of Chomei and other Bijuu.Category:Lore